So what has this year brought. The things that have gone wrong and tits up. The year started with everyone looking towards the “World Cup in South Africa”. But was it with anticipation or fear? I think we all thought it would turn into the nightmare it became. Empty seats, tickets unsold disenfranchised locals etc. Wimbledon saw the surprise of Federer disappearing in the 1st round and Murray not lasting the course (again). We saw investigation into Ticketmaster, GetMeIn, through Anne Robinson and Watchdog. Likely that this is going to run and run. The plus points far outway the bad. The usual scam websites that have blighted the industry, almost disappeared from Google on the days of the big ticket launches of the year. This was helped by many members picking the rogue sites up instantly. The exposure of ASTA-UK this year, has risen to new highs with articles in mainstream Newspapers, Radio and Music Magazines. Most members kept well away from the debacle of Cricket that resulted in big losses for the ECB. The World Cup for England campaign ended up has a damp squid! TWO votes and OUT. We can do without that hassle.

What will next year bring. There will be announcements of tours from the last legs of the ‘Mega’ groups, wanting to make that infamous last pay day. We will be pushing on with the Office of Fair Trading to get the ASTA ’Code of Practice’ accepted. 

Also, February sees the ‘Just Tick It’ campaign set the month aside for ‘Scams Awareness Month 2011′, we will hope to broaden the scope of our alliegence with the Metropolitan Police and the Mobile Phone Crime Unit.

The Public are happier we think as the transparency in the Industry is becoming evident. They know what they are buying – by and large – and their familiarity with the various market, both Secondary AND Primary makes them a much more informed group.

Wishing ALL members and of course the Public for whom we are here, a ‘Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year’.